GALWAY’s Andrew Bourns took over the discussion with an interesting presentation on producing horses for the American market, which he described as the wealthiest in the world.

“Show jumping revolves around the wealthier areas of America,” he commented.

The talented rider, who relocated to the USA in 2008, drove home the importance of building a good reputation in America, something which he said took him eight years to establish fully.

“I started in the USA with one client and I sold her one horse.

“That deal worked well and my client base continued to grow.

“It took me eight years to build a solid reputation where people know they can trust me.”

Bourns spoke about the dominance of the trainers on the American scene, explaining that they control the industry as the majority of young riders’ parents place their full trust in their trainer.

Referring to some of the wealthy parents of the American children, Bourns said: “90% of these buyers don’t know the first thing about a horse.

“They have a close relationship with the trainers and trust them fully. The trainers are like life coaches to the kids.”

He urged Irish producers to focus more on the basics of flatwork to produce nice horses for the American market.

He insisted that flying changes are the most important component of flatwork for the US client.

“A horse won’t even pass the vetting for America if they can’t do a flying change.”

He added: “It costs me around €3,000 to bring a horse to America. If the flatwork is not done well, it costs me money to keep the horse and school it for a few months.”

Bourns concluded by saying that having a good system around the rider in the ever-evolving sport of show jumping is the key to success, insisting that “system beats talent in the long run.”

International course designer Alan Wade challenged Bourns on his point adding: “Talent comes first and system after - riders must have a bundle of talent to get to the top.

“I know all the top American riders came up through the equitation training system but they all had the talent to begin with.”

Internationally respected horse producer, Richard Bourns, continued the discussion saying Ireland has a platform as good as anywhere in the world for producing young horses.

He commended the Dublin Horse Show qualifiers, the Irish Horse Board classes and the Breeders Classic as stepping stones to producing a good horse.

“These classes are held in the main arena at Premier shows and provide the young horses with a good opportunity to develop.

“If your horse is in the top eight at the Breeders Classic, you know it will go on to do good things,” he added.

Geoff Billington: “The sport isn’t as exciting nowadays, everyone is so professional. I guarantee if you put a top rider nowadays on the side of a hill, they would be able to ride. The best riders try to think like the horse. Take John Whitaker and Argento for example – everyone said he only had the scope to be a 1.30m horse.

“Now he is winning 1.60m Grands Prix. John believes he has the scope and Argento doesn’t know that he doesn’t have it.”

Andrew Bourns: “Trainers are key in the US. Most of the commission from sold horses goes to the trainers and some agents along the way.

“They keep the kids on track, and avoid problems after spending $200,000 on the horse. Spooky difficult horses are not welcome in the US – an amateur has to be able to sit on them every single time and feel comfortable and in control.”

Richard Bourns: “Ireland has breeders as good as anywhere in the world, there are just not enough of them. If we can improve our number of top breeders then we can produce a bigger pool of horses.

“The Irish are a nation of sellers and have an unbelievable understanding of the horse. We need to work on our strong points – most of us are producers of rich men’s toys.”

Gisela Holstein: “There is a lot more to good flatwork than putting a gadget on the horse. The horse must be relaxed and must want to cooperate.”

Alan Wade (referring to FEI rule enforcement): “Some riders don’t know the rules or even the schedules at the show. People go straight to the rule book when something goes wrong. Learn the rules and you will be one step ahead.”

Geoff Billington (referring to FEI and Bertram case): “Bertram is poetry in motion and his round in Olympia was one of the best we will ever see.

“I saw the picture and I had a bigger scratch on my hand. I know it’s the rule but there has to be some common sense. The trouble with common sense is it is not very common!”